1. Field of the Subject Disclosure
The subject disclosure relates to mobile transactions. More specifically, the subject disclosure relates to security tokens for mobile near field communication (NFC) transactions.
2. Background of the Subject Disclosure
The dominant form of electronic payment today is a magnetic stripe credit card. With these types of cards, the purchaser or the merchant swipes the magnetic stripe containing account and other information through a reader coupled to a point-of-sale (POS) terminal. This information is sent by the POS terminal to a server via terrestrial networks, the server including a payment processor that represents the bank that issued the payment product. The payment processor ensures that the credit card is an authorized card and that there is either sufficient money in the bank account or a sufficient credit line to support the transaction. The payment processor then returns an authorization code back through the terrestrial networks to the merchant systems to either approve or decline the transaction.
Electronic payments are slowly migrating from the magnetic stripe to a contactless or near-field-communication (NFC) transaction. As these types of transactions gain popularity, this process has its inconveniences for a user. Particularly, not all users prefer NFC payments to handing over a credit card. Even for mobile devices equipped with NFC chips, issues of security, privacy, and accessibility arise when the mobile device has to be handed over, or otherwise separated from the user, in order to perform the transaction. This is especially risky in situations where the mobile device is a smart phone that contains sensitive information, such as personal information and financial data. Other situations may be conceived of where completing a transaction requires a user to compromise their security, privacy, or even their safety by relinquishing their mobile device to a stranger.